White & Gold Console Table

When we first redecorated our master bedroom, we made this nailhead trim cube table that I really loved for next to the bed. The only problem was it was so low, that I would have to climb out of bed to plug in my iPad and iPhone before bed and to turn off the lamp – it was a huge pain and after just a few days I knew it’s days were numbered. Fast forward a year of looking for “the perfect” bedside table and I realized that I could make one. The best part about DIY-ing for me is that I can control everything from the price, the functionality, the colors, the dimensions, etc. I didn’t need anything with drawers, just something to hold our lamp, a clock, a few small dishes and something that would hold my phone, iPad and the TV remotes without me having to get out of bed. The space between the bed and the wall was limited, so I got to make the most of it by drafting and building this myself. I also got to control the height, which ended up being perfect for me and I was so happy with how this turned out. I love projects like this where it’s an idea on my head, that I sketch out on paper and then build from scratch!

My favorite part of this is the tiny shelf that holds my electronics, it’s big enough to hold them without too much dead space and it leaves them easily accessible at all times:

You can see our full bedroom in this post to get a better idea of the color scheme. When I built this table I just wanted it to look clean and fresh, I added the gold leaf in a very free-handed design just along the front to tie it in with the rest of the decor. You could paint this table any color/way you want, you could even add the faux nailhead trim like we did here along the front! I added some gold touches along the top of the table like my DIY gold-dipped lamp that I made from a vase, a brass elephant that used to be in my office, a hammered brass bowl and my DIY clay jewelry dish.

This would make a fun weekend project, and you really could knock it out in one day. It took me a while to draw up the perfect dimensions and figure out exactly how I wanted to make this but once I did it only took me a few hours to go get the lumber & paint and have the whole thing finished. You can tweak the project to fit your dimensions or color scheme but if you want to make it exactly like I did here’s what you’ll need:

One 2 x 10 x 12, which is about two feet longer than you need but I couldn’t find a 2 x 10 x 10.

First thing I did was go get the piece of wood and have the guy cut it. The best part of this is that it’s already the right width and thickness so I just needed four cuts on the lengths. Normally, they charge you for every cut after two cuts but just bat your eyes a little and they have no problem. You’ll need two 30″ pieces for the legs, a 29″ piece for the shelf and a 32″ piece for the table top.

1. I found it easiest to line everything up and then adjust the shelf piece to see the spacing I wanted between it and the table top.

2. Once you’ve figured out your desired spacing, use a ruler to mark where the top of the shelf will go on the inside of both legs.

3. Next mark a line 1.5″ (the thickness of the wood) below those lines.

4. Pre drill your holes where the screws will go, two on each leg. You’ll be screwing two scores through each leg and into the shelf.

5. Pre drill, following the same measurements you used on the legs to drill shallow holes in the side of the shelf piece.

6. Screw the shelf piece into the legs and then lay the table top piece on top and secure with two screws.

Next I painted the table white with the Valspar paint. Even though it’s a paint +primer in one, I still had to do three coats (boo). After that I gold leafed just the front of the table while still seemed like it would take me a lifetime. Surprisingly it only took about an hour and I just put it on a towel in our living room so I could do it while watching tv. You can see how to do the gold leafing in the lamp post here. I let it sit like that overnight to make sure it was all dry and secure then I used a silk cloth to rub the excess off and shine up what was one there!